- Target:
- British Government
- Region:
- United Kingdom
- Website:
- www.intercare.org.uk
July 18, 2006
Inter Care, a UK charity has for 32 years collected unused, returned but perfect, as-new medicines from GP practices to send to 100 African clinics.
World Health Organisation guidelines on medicine supply overseas are closely followed. This activity is now being stopped by impending prosecution of the UK Environment Agency (the enforcement agency of the Dept of Environment) as they say the law designates these prescription medicines as waste, which must only be disposed of in landfill sites.
Inter Care has been sending out 6000kg per year of these life-saving medicines with a market value of £300,000pa. This is less than 1% of the total NHS prescriptions wasted and destroyed.
There needs to be a change in the law to allow the re-use of NHS returned & unused medicines in developing countries provided meticulous standards are met as follows:- at least 18 months before expiry date; perfect, unopened and undamaged; each drug specifically requested by local health professionals in the area of use.
I want the UK government to change the necessary laws to allow NHS unused medicines to be sent to any developing country requesting them in a programme such as Inter Care developed with the highest standards of screening and monitoring.
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The Send unused medicines to Africa petition to British Government was written by Margaret Macdonald and is in the category Health at GoPetition.